Chocolate Cupcakes with Mint Frosting

Originally published at Indulgences. You can comment here or there.

This weekend was one full of birthdays. I had so many parties to attend, and so many cupcakes to make! Chocolate and mint cupcakes seemed to be the only way to go!

I am going to be completely honest; while I love making cupcakes, I can not make frosting for the life of me. I don’t know what my problem is! I have tried many recipes, and while some turn out okay, they just aren’t right. This time I followed a recipe from my Joy of Cooking cookbook, and it turned out not very sweet and sort of gummy in texture, so I went to town adding powdered sugar and milk, and it became much better. If any of you dolls have a recipe for frosting that is wonderful (and not too difficult!), or any pointers about making frosting, I would really appreciate hearing them.

Despite that the frosting on these cupcakes wasn’t exactly how I had envisioned them being, they turned out fabulous. The flavor was just right. Though the frosting tasted extremely strong and minty by itself, it balanced perfectly when it was paired with the light and fluffy chocolate cupcake.

♥ 2 cups white sugar
♥ 3 cups all purpose flour
♥ 2 teaspoon baking soda
♥ 1/2 teaspoon salt
♥ 1/2 cup cocoa powder
♥ 2 cups water
♥ 1 cup canola oil
♥ 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
♥ 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. In a large bowl sift together sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. Stir in water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Beat until smooth.
3. Pour into line muffin tins and fill 2/3 full. Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out dry.

For the frosting:

1. Follow your favorite vanilla frosting recipe. Substitute mint extract for vanilla, and add 3-4 drops of green food coloring.